Apple likes to boast about how much thought it put into the little things, and that includes the new Mac Pro fans.
The funky-looking lattice grille that gives the new Mac Pro its distinctive look got a lot of attention when the machine was first unveiled back in June. More air than metal, the grille plays a key role in both passive cooling and allowing efficient extraction of air pulled through by the fans, but plenty of work went into designing the fans themselves…
Popular Mechanics spoke to two of the engineering leads about the design of the fans. The big challenge was how to remove a lot of heat from a powerful machine while meeting Apple’s goal of extremely unobtrusive fan noise. The secret, said the engineers, is in making the noise pleasant rather than necessarily quieter.
Among those engineers is Chris Ligtenberg, Senior Director of Product Design. His name is on dozens of the company’s patents, but he’s especially interested in how air moves. (He’s also a pilot. “I fly a Beechcraft Turbo Bonanza, B36TC,” he says. Before that, he had a Piper straight-tail Lance, PA32R-300).
Read more at 9to5Mac.com